Hopefully by now you are finished (or almost finished) with your analysis of a formal and an informal assessment. Reflect on your work to identify (and describe) at least three strategies that you use (or try) in your own classroom to learn from formal assessments and have your students learn from formal assessments.
Some of the strategies I like to use in my own classroom to for informal assessment are the following:
When the students are assigned independent classwork (for reinforcement of new material) I often exchange the papers among the students to correct. (I'm usually careful to make sure that "friends" don't correct each others work.) I have them put "CB (their name)" for corrected by . We go over the classwork as a group and I randomly choose who will answer each question. If someone has a paper with an incorrect answer, the student correcting the work needs to come up with the correct answer. It makes them think more about the new material, and it also helps me save a little time with grading.
Drawings and diagrams are useful for infomally assessing student learning. For both middle and high school I have used this strategy. In the middle school, I had the students draw atomic models while I walked around the room. Just from looking at their drawings, I could tell if they understood how to use the periodic table. If they were confused, I had the opportunity to clarify with them individually. When (if) I saw many students making the same mistakes, I took the opportunity to stop the activity for clarification. In the high school, I used drawings and diagrams during a wave unit. I had them draw and label all the parts for the types of mechanical waves. I found that they frequently forgot to label amplitude and when they did label it, it was incorrect. Amplitude was one part of a wave that needed further clarification.
Comparing and contrasting using Venn Diagrams is also a useful way to review material. I've had the students use this method as classwork or homework for the magnetism unit (comparing/contrasting electric motors and generators) and in the ecology unit (primary and seconday succession) I can easily see if they "got all the facts" and it serves as a great reference for studying.
Formal assessments (tests and quizzes) I review in class. I have them independently correct the answers they got wrong, then we review it together.
Some of the strategies I like to use in my own classroom to for informal assessment are the following: